The Wildrose Opposition leader in Alberta says the government is attempting to whitewash the findings of reports into the Fort McMurray wildfire disaster.
Brian Jean says the lives of thousands of peoples were put at risk because the government wasn’t ready to fight the fire properly and was slow to respond.
Jean, who lost his home to the flames, says it was only by the grace of God that more than 80,000 people were able to escape.
He is calling for a judge-led independent public inquiry to get more answers about what happened.
READ MORE: Report into Fort McMurray wildfire cites communications breakdown in early days
The Wildrose and Progressive Conservatives are also accusing the government of not releasing the reports quickly enough, including one that was ready in March.
Agriculture Minister Oneil Carlier said they didn’t want to release them as the anniversary of the fire approached.
Watch below: It was the biggest fire and evacuation in Alberta history. Now that a report into the Fort McMurray wildfire is out, concerns are being raised. Vinesh Pratap has more from the community.
Jean said it is “absolutely outrageous that the government hid this report for months to avoid accountability.”
“The thousands of people who lost their homes have been demanding answers and the government has intentionally hid this report from them.
“The information in this report shows that we were not prepared and more should have been done. It’s now more clear than ever that we need an independent judge-led inquiry for full transparency and accountability.”
The government said it waited to release the reports in order to release them both at the same time. The KPMG report was received in May. The NDP said it wanted to ensure it had “adequate responses and could release an initial implementation plan” when releasing the reports’ findings.
The government said “these were independent third-party reports that needed to be analyzed and thoughtfully considered before releasing.”
READ MORE: Alberta to complete review into Fort McMurray wildfire response by summer
The reports say the fire caught the government by surprise and recommends the province review how it manages emergencies.
They also suggest that not enough money is being spent to prevent and prepare for wildfires.
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Reports into Fort McMurray wildfire cites communications breakdown in early days -
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Province didn’t notify municipality fire was going to breach town in Fort McMurray -
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Province didn’t notify municipality fire was going to breach town in Fort McMurray -
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‘There seems to be quite a breakdown’: Ministers take heat over Fort McMurray review -
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Third party reviews offers recommendations for Fort McMurray wildfire response -
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Report criticizes Fort McMurray wildfire response -
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Fort McMurray wildfire communications breakdown in early days: report
READ BELOW: KPMG report into Fort McMurray wildfire response
KPMG Fort McMurray Wildfire Report – May 2016 by Anonymous TdomnV9OD4 on Scribd
READ BELOW: MNP report into response to the Fort McMurray wildfire
With files from Global News.
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